Investigators searching a site close to where British toddler went missing have now ended their operation. Officers could be seen holding pitchforks as they combed the land in an area on the outskirts of Lagos in Portugal on Thursday, as search teams of German and Portuguese police officers and firefighters hunted for evidence before packing up and leaving.

The team spent three days scouring scrubland and abandoned structures, but it is understood officers will conclude the searches on Thursday, if no significant progress is made. The operation is understood to have cost £300,000 and comes following an investigation into a paedophile who lived close by at the time of the young girl's disappearance. British officers have not been present at the latest searches, the Metropolitan Police said.

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